Means for anchorage of surgical fluid injection and drainage tubes



June 23, 1964 D. w. GORDON ETAL 3,138,158

United States Patent O MEANS FOR ANCHORAGE OF SURGICAL FLUID INJECTION AND DRAINAGE TUBES v Donald W. Gordon, 13070 Francisquito, Baldwin Park, Calif., and Clifford M. Winchell, Jr., 1201 Walnut Way, Whittier, Calif.

Filed Nov. 2, 1962, Ser. No. 234,958

4 Claims. (Cl. 12S- 214) This invention relates to surgical apparatus and has as its object to provide an improved fastener and method for i The invention provides a fastener device having `a central portion embodying means for gripping a surgical tube where it enters a body aperture, and having a plurality of adhesive-faced arms for tenacious attachment to the skin. The device is fashioned from a thin and flexible but extremely strong, tough sheet material which is non-toxic. The tube-gripping structure is formed in the material of the sheet, and requires no separate gripping element. The device is accordingly extremely simple and inexpensive, yet it provides a very decided improvement in surgical tube anchorage. An important object of the invention is to provide an improved fastener which is of ultimatev simplicity and low cost, and which can be packed and handled in a compact package containing a very substantial number vof the fasteners. f

Other objects and advantages will become apparent in the ensuing specification and appended drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective View illustrating a fastener embodying our invention, and'its manner of use;

. FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional View ofthe same;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same, with the surgical tube Referring now to the drawing in detail, and in particular to FIG. 1, we have shown therein, as an example of one form in which the invention may be embodied, a fastener comprising four attachment arms 10, 10' and 10" and a central tube-gripping web 11 joining the four arms 10 in an integral sheet of material. The device is fabricated of a non-toxic, thin flexible sheet material that is very tough and strong, such as polyethylene, polyvinyl acetate, polyvinyl chloride, nylon, etc. It has an under surface faced with a pressure-sensitive adhesive lm 12 (FIG. 2) by means of which all four arms and the central tube-gripping web 11 are adhesively attached to the skin around an aperture 13 into which is inserted a surgical tube 14.

The tube-gripping web 11 has three apertures 15, 16 i and 17, the latter being in the center of the web and the other two being spaced radially outwardly from the center toward two corners 18 defined between side margins of arm 10 and the adjoining arms. Apertures 15 and 16 "ice are connected to the adjacent corners 18 by respective diagonal slits 19 and 20 (FIG. 3) and aperture 1'7 is connected to a corresponding corner 18' by a diagonal slit 21. At a fourth corner 18 the adjoining arms 10 are integrally joined.

In using the fastener of FIGS. 1, 2, the tube 14 is first inserted into the body cavity 13, the fastener is then opened at slit 21 to receive the projecting free end of tube 14 Where it leaves the cavity 13, and the tube 14 is passed through slit 21 into central aperture 17. The fastener is adjusted to a position where the unslitted corner 18 is positioned over the portion of the tube embedded in cavity 13, and the arms 10" are then pressed into adhesive contact with the skin on respective sides of the embedded portion of tubing 14. Arm 10 may then be positioned to close slit 21 and pressed rmly against the skin, thus securely positioning tube 14 in aperture 17 while closing the aperture around the tube. Arm 10 is then lifted, to open the slits 19 and 20, and the tube is passed downwardly through slit 19 and aperture 15, thence beneath the portion of web 11 between apertures 15 and 16, and thence upwardly through slit 20 and aperture 16 while arm 10 is held taut and pressed downwardly into adhesive contact with the skin, closing slits 19 and 20 and apertures 15 and 16. A portion of the tube will then be looped around the central web 11, with a portion 22 bridging above the web from aperture 17 to aperture 15, with an adjoining portion-23 extending beneath web 11 between aperture 15 and aperture 16, and with the free end portion of the tube emerging from aperture 16. The closed apertures 15, 16 and 17 will securely position the tube at the three points thereon where it passes through the apertures, against lateral slippage with respect to margins of the fastener. The portions 22 and 23 will be held in the form of a loop or bight encircling adjacent areas of central web 11 and engaging the same with a snubbing action which will effectively inhibit longitudinal slippage of the tube beneath the fastener (a diiculty commonly experienced where a tube is held simply by one or more strips of adhesive tape bridging across a portion of the tube). The material of web 11 is sutilciently stiff -to resist the tendency to curl under such snubbing action, when such resistance is assisted by adequate adhesive attachment of web 11 to the skin.

A syringe 24, for intravenous feeding or injection of anaesthesia or for withdrawing a body fluid, can be attached to the free end of the tube 14 and operated to inject or to withdraw fluid, as the situation may require.

Modjed Form-FIG. 4

FIG. 4 discloses a similar fastener which is, however, simplified in omitting the transverse arms of the cruciform device of FIGS. l and 2, and utilizing simply a straight strip of adhesive-coated plastic ribbon comprising arms 18a and 10b joined by a central web portion 11a having a central aperture 17a and respective lateral apertures 15a and 16a spaced from respective sides thereof. Aperture 15a is connected to the adjacent side margin of the web 11a by a short slit 19a, normal to said margin. Aperture 16a is connected to the opposite margin of the web by a` slit 20a extending diagonally to one arm (eg. arm 10a, as shown). Aperture 17a is connected to the same margin by a diagonal slit 21a extending diagonally into the other arm (as shown, the arm 10b). The divergence of slits 20a and 21a provides marginal width in the triangular section 10c of web 11a dened between these slits.

In using the fastener of FIG. 3, it is arranged transversely to the embedded portion 14 of the tubing 14 and the latter, where it emerges from the body cavity, is extended upwardly through aperture 17a, thence looped over the portion of web 11a between apertures 17a and Vthe device is substantially similar to that of FIGS. 1-3.

FIG. 5 discloses how the fastener can be embedded in a device of three arms of adhesive-coated plastic sheet material, instead of the four arms of FIG. 1, the arms 10, and 10 corresponding to the similarly numbered arms of FIG. 3 with the exception that they are disposed 120 apart instead of 90, and all three of the corners 18 and 18 are divided byslits 19, 20, 21 (corresponding to the similarly numbered slits of FIG. 3 and leading to respective apertures 15, 16, 17 positioned approximately the same as the correspondingly numbered slitsr of FIG. 3). The use of the device is substantially the same as shown in FIG. 1, the tube 1d being looped around the central web 11e (triangular instead of the square web 11 of FIG. 3) in the same manner as in FIG. 1, as indicated by corresponding reference numerals.

Modified Form-FIGS. 6, 7

These sides ofthe squares intersect at 90 and the ref mote corners of the squares are diagonally opposite across `the center of the aperture. Thus the sides 26 of these remote corners, as extended,`dene a projected square aperture when the teeth 25 are iiexed upwardly by passage of tube 14 through the aperture as in FIG. 7. The aperture is so dimensioned that the distance between opposite parallel sides `26 of the remote corners is approximately equal to the diameter of tube 14, so that the sides 26 will al1 be tangent to the circular section of tube passing through the aperture, and the gripping teeth 25 will thereby be retained in positions diametrically opposed across the tube section, frictionally gripping the tube so as to resist slipping of the tube in the aperture.

v In installation of the device of FIGS. 6, 7, it isV simply opened at slit 21e to pass the projecting portion of tubing into aperture 17C, and the arms 10c, 10d are then arranged to close slit 21e and adhesively attached to the skin.

We claim:

1. A fastener for a surgical tube inserted into a human body, comprising: a portion of non-toxic plastic sheet material having a coating of adhesive on one face thereof,

for adhesive attachment' of said strip to said body, rsaid fastener having apertures for passage ofsaid tube therethrough and having slits extending from said apertures to margins thereof, for reception of said tube into` said apertures, whereby said fastener may be adhesively attached to said body to close said slitsand to thereby secure said tube in said apertures, Vsaid fastener being in the form of a star of at least three arms and having at least three of said apertures and the same number of slits extending? from respective apertures to margins of respective arms of said star, whereby said tube may be passed inwardly through one of said apertures, thence between a central web of said star and the skin of said body, thence outwardly through another of said apertures, thence above said web, and thence inwardly through the third aperture and into said body, the portion of said tube between said web and said skin being adhesively engaged beneath said web to prevent slippage of the tube relative to said fastener. j

2. A fastener as defined in claim vl, whereinl said stary is in the form Vof a cross,rwith arms disposed apart.

3. A fastener as dei-ined in claim 2, wherein said third aperture `is in the center of said web. Y

4. A fastener as defined in claim 1, wherein said star has three arms disposed apart, and wherein said slits are extended from said apertures to the corners between the adjoining margins of adjacent arms.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Eby July 31, 1,962 

1. A FASTENER FOR A SURGICAL TUBE INSERTED INTO A HUMAN BODY, COMPRISING: A PORTION OF NON-TOXIC PLASTIC SSHEET MATERIAL HAVING A COATING OF ADHESIVE ON ONE FACE THEREOF, FOR ADHESIVE ATTACHMENT OF SAID STRIP TO SAID BODY, SAID FASTNER HAVING APERTURES FOR PASSAGE OF SAID TUBE THERETHROUGH AND HAVING SLITS EXTENDING FROM SAID APERTURES TO MARGINS THEREOF, FOR RECEPTION OF SAID TUBE INTO SAID APERTURES, WHEREBY SAID FFASTENER MAY BE ADHESIVELY ATTACHED TO SAID BODY TO CLOSE SAID SLITS AND TO THEREBY SECURE SAID TUBE IN SAID APERTURES, SAID FASTENERS BEING IN THE FORM OF A STAR OF AT LEAST THREE ARMS AND HAVING AT LEAST THREE OF SAID APERTURES AND THE SAME NUMBER OF SLITS EXTENDING FROM RESPECTIVE APERTURES TOMARGINS OF RESPECTIVE ARMS OF SAID STAR, WHEREBY SAID TUBE MAY BE PASSED INWARDLY THROUGH ONE OF SAID APERATURE, THENCE BETWEEN A CENTRAL WEB OF SAID STAR AND THE SKIN OF SAID BODY, THENCE OUTWARDLY THROUGH ANOTHER OF SAID APERTURES, THENCE ABOVE SAID WEB, AND THENCE INWARDLY THROUGH THE THIRD APERTURE AND INTO SAID BODY, THE PORTION OF SAID TUBE BETWEEN SAID WEB AND SAID SKIN BEING ADHESIVELY ENGAGED BENEATH SAID WEB TO PREVENT SLIPPAGE OF THE TUBE RELATIVE TO SAID FASTENER. 